|
Brink to open new sawmill
• Back to News
Liberal candidates use announcement to trumpet strong provincial economic growth
ARTHUR WILLIAMS - Prince George Free Press
Prince George-based Brink Forest Products announced Tuesday that it will be opening a new sawmill in Prince George and expanding its current operations here and in Houston.
Company founder and president John Brink said the expansion will create 50 to 100 new jobs between the two locations. The expansion will increase Brink’s productivity from 120-150 million board feed annually up to approximately 250 millions board feet, he said.
"We now have the largest finger-jointing plant in Canada," Brink said. "I’m proud we did it in Prince George."
Finger-jointing is the process of taking short sections of board produced as waste by conventional sawmills like Canfor and West Fraser then joining them to create useful length boards, Brink explained.
"In this region we have some of the best fibre (timber) in the world. We must add more value to the timber," Brink said. "We’re making a product from something that used to go to the chipper."
Finger-jointing is a relatively new industry, he said, and when the company started in the 1970s they had to design some of the processes themselves.
However, the building industry has recently shown increased interest in the product, Brink said, in part because 95 per cent of finger-jointed boards are totally straight. Up to 33 percent of convention lumber boards can be slightly bent or warped.
"We’re seeing an annual 10 per cent market growth," Brink said. "Now it’s the product of choice."
That trend has allowed the company to expand rapidly, increasing from 50 employees four years ago to 300-350 after the new sawmill becomes operational.
Because the industry is new and specialized, Brink said, the company trains new and existing staff on a continual basis.
Paying fair wages, offering good benefits and training has been key to the company’s solid staff retention, Brink said.
The new mill will be located next to Brink Forest Product’s current facilities on River Road. The company has purchased a used mill and 2ill transport and set up the equipment in Prince George, Brink said.
The mill should be functioning within six to eight months.
Brink said the company is continuing to look for new approaches to add value to their product.
"Making furniture, I can see all kinds of reasons why (we) can do it and no reason (we) can’t," he said.
Prince George Liberal candidates Shirley Bond, Pat Bell and John Rustad were on hand for the announcement.
"They (The Liberal Party) has given us the confidence to invest. They have created an environment of less regulation and more support for medium and small businesses," Brink said. "They have portrayed the character and impression that we are open for business in B.C."
Bond, Bell and Rustad took the opportunity to congratulate Brink and spoke about the importance of maintaining B.C.’s economic growth.
|
